The Hebrew name Jerahmeel (Hebrew: יְרַחְמְאֵל Yəraḥməʾēl, Tiberian: Yăraḥmē̆ʾēl,[1] "God shall have mercy"),[2][3] which appears several times in the Tanakh (see the article Jerahmeel), also appears in various forms as the name of an archangel in books of the intertestamental and early Christian periods.

The book 2 Esdras, also known as 4 Ezra, is regarded as canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and falls within the intertestamental books of the Apocrypha in Protestant Bibles used by the Lutheran Churches and the Anglican Communion; it has come down to us in Latin and appears as an appendix to the Vulgate.

There is a reference in chapter 4 verse 36, to Jeremiel (in the Latin Ieremihel), which, however, does not occur in all the manuscripts.

In post-Christian world Jeremiel's duty evolved and is paired with St. Simon Peter as gatekeeper of Heaven.

There are seven to eight archangels venerated by the Orthodox Christians: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selathiel, Jegudiel, and Barachiel, with an eighth, Jeremiel, added to this number.